Lisa Dawn Bookman

Lisa Dawn Bookman, 68, of Austin, Texas, passed away peacefully in hospice care on January 11, 2026, after a two-year battle with cancer. Born in Odessa in 1957, Lisa was raised in Aspermont, where she spent her days playing games with her two younger sisters and two older brothers. She excelled at basketball and as a cross-country athlete, showing the tenacity that became a defining characteristic throughout her life.

Lisa’s work with AT&T brought her to Austin in the early 1980s, where she embraced the city’s blues scene and became a regular at Antone’s. When motherhood called and Lisa welcomed her son, James, into the world, she taught him what it meant to be responsible, respectful, and determined—to set a goal and not give up until it was achieved.

Lisa loved good cooking and fine wine and was herself an intuitive and talented chef. Equally at home in a Cambodian tuk-tuk or on a West Texas highway, she traveled the state, the country, and the world with her husband and son. A favorite family memory was a stay at a working vineyard in Italy, where they enjoyed the food, scenery, exceptional wine, and created indelible experiences. A late-in-life move to Washington State fulfilled her flatlander’s dream of living among tall, green trees.

Although she departed too soon, her family will always remember Lisa as:

A loving daughter to Elmo and Dorothy

A beloved sister to Mike, Bill, Paula, and Mitch, and sister-in-law to Judge

A wonderful wife to Michael, her husband of thirty-two years

A devoted mother to James and his wife, Lara

An awesome Gam Gam to her grandchildren Cody, Bruce, Charlie Belle, and Duke

The family asks that, instead of flowers, those wishing to commemorate Lisa’s life consider donating to one of the two organizations that supported her during her illness. The Fred Hutch Cancer Center in Washington helped give Lisa another year in 2024, and Christopher House in Austin provided her peace and dignity at the end.